JP presidium decide leaving cabinet, Raushan loyalists say ‘No’

Dhaka – Jatiya Party leaders, loyal to leader of the opposition in parliament Raushan Ershad, on Sunday turned down its presidium members’ decision to quit cabinet as they think the meeting was not properly convened.
“Ruhul Amin Howlader has been made Jatiya Party secretary general violating the party charter. So, the presidium meeting convened by him is illegal,” JaPa senior presidium member Anisul Islam Mahmud told reporters in parliament.“We don’t accept the decisions of the meeting convened illegally,” Anisul, also the Water Resources Minister, added.
Opposition Chief Whip and Jatiya Party Presidium member ABM Tajul Islam also rejected the presidium meeting decisions saying, “What meeting, we didn’t join any party meeting!”
Raushan, however, declined to make any comment over the decisions of the meeting, saying she has no idea about those as she was not there at the meeting.
The opposition leader said she will come up with her reaction to the issue later.
Earlier in the day, Jatiya Party presidium members at a meeting agreed to withdraw the party’s three representatives from the current cabinet. The meeting also decided to hold the party’s national council in the city on April 16.
“All the members who attended the meeting opined that it’s necessary for the party to quit the cabinet in the interest of its politics. Our chairman will take a decision to this end at the right time,” Jatiya Party co-chairman GM Quader told reporters after the meeting.
The meeting began around 11:45am with Jatiya Party chairman HM Ershad in the chair at his Banani office.
But senior presidium member and opposition leader Raushan Ershad and other members loyal to her, including Anisul Islam Mahmud, Ziauddin Ahmed Bablu and Kazi Firoz Rashid, Mujibul Haque Chunnu and opposition chief whip ABM Tajul Islam, boycotted the meeting.
Asked about the absence of Raushan and the party’s three ministers at the meeting, GM Quader said the opposition leader could not attend the meeting due to her busy schedule over her three other official programmes. “Some members can’t join the meeting for various reasons. But, it doesn’t expose any rift in the party. There’s no division among us and we’re united,” he said.